After nearly three weeks of fasting despite serious health complications, the student movement is entering a new phase with promises of support inside Parliament.
Image Source: Instagram
Three activists of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) ended their 23-day indefinite hunger strike at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Monday after receiving an appeal from a group of opposition leaders, civil society members and well-known public figures. The delegation requested the students to stop the fast and continue their movement through Parliament and nationwide public campaigns.
The three students — Neha, Manish and Aameen — ended their hunger strike even as heavy rain fell across the city. Their protest had become a major part of the ongoing student movement over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and demands for reforms in India’s education system.
Advertisement
The visiting delegation assured the students that their concerns would not end with the hunger strike. They promised to raise the students’ demands in Parliament during the Monsoon Session.
Advertisement
The delegation included Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, CPI(M) MP Amra Ram, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Rajaram Singh, social activist Yogendra Yadav, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, academic Atul Sood, and actors Prakash Raj and Shabana Azmi.
Speaking to the students, Yogendra Yadav said the decision to end the fast should not be seen as the end of the movement. He described it as the completion of one phase of the struggle, with the campaign continuing through other democratic means.
Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha praised the students for what he called a major achievement. He said they had succeeded in exposing the government on several issues and had drawn national attention to their demands.
Actor Shabana Azmi told the protesters that her generation had failed to provide enough support to young people. She said the students had shown a new path forward through their determination and peaceful protest.
Rajaram Singh also expressed support, saying the students’ voices would now be heard inside Parliament. He added that their movement had inspired opposition parties on how to continue the fight.
According to AISA, all three activists faced serious health problems during the protest. The organisation said each of them lost more than 12 percent of their body weight over the 23-day hunger strike.
Despite dangerously low blood sugar levels and other medical complications, the students continued the fast until Monday, when they accepted the appeal from the visiting delegation.
Although the hunger strike has ended, AISA said its larger movement will continue. The student organisation announced a month-long nationwide campaign that will run alongside the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
The campaign will focus on demanding accountability over the alleged irregularities in competitive examinations. It will also target Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the National Testing Agency (NTA), and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The three activists had started their indefinite hunger strike on June 28 as part of a wider protest at Jantar Mantar. Their main demands included resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, judicial inquiry into the alleged examination irregularities, and broader reforms in the country’s education system.
With the fast now over, AISA says the movement will shift from the protest site to Parliament and public campaigns across the country, while continuing to press for action on its key demands.
Advertisement
